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The hillstream loaches are a species-rich group that are well adapted to fast-flowing freshwater habitats. Loss of habitat owing to the construction of hydropower dams makes these fishes vulnerable. The phylogeny of the genus Beaufortia remains contentious according to previous studies. To help clarify the phylogenetic relationships of Beaufortia and related species, we sequenced and analyzed the complete mitogenome of B. pingi. The circular mitogenome is 16 565 b.p. long and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transport RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, and one control region. The most-common codon in PCGs was leucine (16.66%), followed by alanine (9.32%) and threonine (7.71%). A phylogenetic analysis including 17 other species of hillstream loaches was performed using the maximum-likelihood method, based on the sequences of 13 mitochondrial PCGs. These species divided into two clades: Gastromyzontidae and Balitoridae, and some genera, including Beaufortia, appeared paraphyletic. Specifically, B. pingi grouped with Erromyzon kalotaenia, Yaoshania pachychilus, and Pseudogastromyzon fangi, followed by clustering with two other species of Beaufortia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well known that lipids are vital for axonal myelin repair. Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) is characterized by widespread axonal injury. The association between serum lipids and DAI is not well known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of serum lipid profile variables (triglycerides, high- and low-density lipoproteins, and total cholesterol) with DAI detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and with clinical outcome for patients suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: This study included 176 patients with a history of TBI who had undergone initial serum lipid measurements within 1 week and brain MRIs within 30 days. Based on MRI findings, patients were divided into negative and positive DAI groups. Results: Of the 176 patients, 70 (39.8%) were assigned to DAI group and 106 (60.2%) patients to non-DAI group. Compared with the non-DAI group, patients with DAI had significantly lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in serum during the first week following TBI. Multivariate analysis identified HDL-C as an independent predictor of DAI. Patients with lower serum HDL-C levels were less likely to regain consciousness within 6 months in TBI patients with DAI lesions identified by MRI. Conclusions: Plasma levels of HDL-C may be a viable addition to biomarker panels for predicting the presence and prognosis of DAI on subsequent MRI following TBI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper involves the use of a compliant ankle rehabilitation robot (CARR) for the treatment of drop foot. The robot has a bio-inspired design by employing four Festo Fluidic muscles (FFMs) that mimic skeletal muscles actuating three rotational degrees of freedom (DOFs). A trajectory tracking controller was developed in joint task space to track the predefined trajectory of the end effector. This controller was achieved by controlling individual FFM length based on inverse kinematics. Three patients with drop foot participated in a preliminary study to evaluate the potential of the CARR for clinical applications. Ankle stretching exercises along ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion (DP) were delivered for treating drop foot. All patients gave positive feedback in using this ankle robot for the treatment of drop foot, although some limitations exist. The proposed controller showed satisfactory accuracy in trajectory tracking, with all root mean square deviation (RMSD) values no greater than 0.0335 rad and normalized root mean square deviation (NRMSD) values less than 6.7%. These preliminary findings support the potentials of the CARR for clinical applications. Future work will investigate the effectiveness of the robot for treating drop foot on a large sample of subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the surgical technique, short-term oncological and perioperative outcomes for the transabdominal division of the levator ani muscles during abdominoperineal excision of the rectum (APER). Methods: A systematic review was performed to identify studies reporting on transabdominal division of the levator ani during APER. A comprehensive literature search was performed using a combination of free-text terms and controlled vocabulary when applicable on the following databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Science Citation Index Expanded and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in the Cochrane Library. The search period was from January 1945 to December 2015. The following search headings were used: 'transabdominal', 'transpelvic', 'abdominal' or 'pelvic' combined with either 'levator' or 'extralevator' and with 'abdominoperineal'. Results: Nine publications were identified reporting on 99 participants. The male/female distribution was 1.44:1, respectively, and the mean age was 56.6 (30-77) years. All tumours were less than 5 cm from the anal verge. The preoperative radiological staging was T2 in 18% of cases, T3 in 53.5% and T4 in 28.5%. Transabdominal division of the levators was performed laparoscopically in 55 cases, robotically in 34 and open in 10. The mean operating time was 255 (177-640) min. Mean intraoperative blood loss was 140 (92-500) ml. There were no conversions to open. Circumferential resection margins were positive in two cases, and there was one intraoperative perforation. Mean post-operative length of stay was 9.3 (3-67) days. Follow-up (from 0 to 31 months) revealed 19 perineal wound infections, 15 cases of sexual dysfunction and 7 cases of urinary retention. There was no mortality and 1 readmission. Conclusions: Transabdominal division of the levators during APER is feasible and reproducible, with acceptable perioperative and good early oncological outcomes. Further comparative studies are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Mesothelioma is a notoriously chemotherapy-resistant neoplasm, as is evident in the dismal overall survival for patients with those of asbestos-associated disease. We previously demonstrated co-activation of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), MET, and AXL in mesothelioma cell lines, suggesting that these kinases could serve as novel therapeutic targets. Although clinical trials have not shown activity for EGFR inhibitors in mesothelioma, concurrent inhibition of various activated RTKs has pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects in mesothelioma cell lines. Thus, we hypothesised that a coordinated network of multi-RTK activation contributes to mesothelioma tumorigenesis.Methods:Activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Raf/MAPK, and co-activation of RTKs were evaluated in mesotheliomas. Effects of RTK and downstream inhibitors/shRNAs were assessed by measuring mesothelioma cell viability/growth, apoptosis, activation of signalling intermediates, expression of cell-cycle checkpoints, and cell-cycle alterations.Results:We demonstrate activation of the PI3K/AKT/p70S6K and RAF/MEK/MAPK pathways in mesothelioma, but not in non-neoplastic mesothelial cells. The AKT activation, but not MAPK activation, was dependent on coordinated activation of RTKs EGFR, MET, and AXL. In addition, PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibition recapitulated the anti-proliferative effects of concurrent inhibition of EGFR, MET, and AXL. Dual targeting of PI3K/mTOR by BEZ235 or a combination of RAD001 and AKT knockdown had a greater effect on mesothelioma proliferation and viability than inhibition of individual activated RTKs or downstream signalling intermediates. Inhibition of PI3K/AKT was also associated with MDM2-p53 cell-cycle regulation.Conclusions:These findings show that PI3K/AKT/mTOR is a crucial survival pathway downstream of multiple activated RTKs in mesothelioma, underscoring that PI3K/mTOR is a compelling target for therapeutic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The propagation of elastic P-wave in unfavorable geologic structures is a complex process which contains reflex, transmission, and refraction. In this paper, the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) method is introduced, and the viscous boundary condition and stress wave input way are applied to enable the DDA method to simulate the seismic dynamic response of underground rock mass. The improved DDA program is used to analyze the propagation laws of elastic P-wave in joints and weak interlayer. The results show that (1) for a range of joint stiffness, the difference of transmission coefficient of joint surface between DDA calculation and theoretical solution is small; (2) the lower the joint stiffness, the more obvious the attenuation of the elastic P-wave is; (3) varied joint spacing and joint number play different roles on the attenuation of elastic P-wave; (4) the DDA calculation result is consistent with the theoretical solution for the transmission coefficient of interface; (5) the thickness and elastic modulus of weak interlayer will affect the interference effect of multiple transmission waves; (6) with the increasing weak interlayer thickness H (or a), the attenuation of the elastic P-wave is more obvious; and (7) the lower the wave impedance ratio of weak interlayer, the more obvious the attenuation of the elastic P-wave is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer, the most deadly gynecologic malignancy, is often diagnosed late and at the advanced stage when the cancer cells have already migrated and invaded into other tissues and organs. Better understanding of the mechanism of metastasis in ovarian cancer cells is essential to the design of effective therapy. In this study, we investigated the function of scaffolding adaptor protein Gab2 in ovarian cancer cells. Gab2 is found to be overexpressed in a subset of ovarian tumors and cancer cell lines. Gab2 expression mainly regulates the migratory behaviors of ovarian cancer cells. Overexpression of Gab2 promotes the migration and invasion, and downregulates E-cadherin expression in ovarian cancer cells with low-Gab2 expression. Conversely, knockdown of Gab2 expression inhibits the migration and invasion, and promotes E-cadherin expression in ovarian cancer cells with high-Gab2 expression. By expressing Gab2 wild-type and Gab2 mutants that are defective in activation of the PI3K and Shp2-Erk pathways, we find that Gab2 inhibits E-cadherin expression and enhances the expression of Zeb1, a transcription factor involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and cell migration and invasion through the activation of the PI3K pathway. Knockdown of Zeb1 expression blocks Gab2-induced suppression of E-cadherin expression and increase in cell invasion. LY294002 and GDC-0941, inhibitors of PI3K, or Rapamycin, an inhibitor of PI3K downstream target mTOR, can reverse the effects of Gab2 on migration and invasion. Overall, our studies reveal that Gab2 overexpression, via activation of the PI3K-Zeb1 pathway, promotes characteristics of EMT in ovarian cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) family of receptor tyrosine kinases has been reported to have an active role in a number of malignancies. Amplifications and overexpression of various EGFR family members, including EGFR, Her2, and ErbB3, have been reported in epithelial ovarian cancer. Although anti-EGFR-targeted therapy has shown limited clinical activity in ovarian cancer to date, a recent report suggests that activation of ErbB3, one of the members of the EGFR family, may support the growth and proliferation of ovarian cancer cells and that ErbB3 may therefore serve as a potential therapeutic target in this disease. Here, we review the EGFR family and the clinical experience with anti-EGFR family member-directed therapies in ovarian cancer to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the most exciting possibilities for dielectric elastomer artificial muscles consist of biologically inspired networks of smart actuators working towards common goals. However, the creation of these networks will only be realised once intelligence and feedback can be fully distributed throughout an artificial muscle device. Here we show that dielectric elastomer artificial muscles can be built with intrinsic sensor, control, and driver circuitry, bringing them closer in capability to their natural analogues. This was achieved by exploiting the piezoresistive behaviour of the actuator’s highly compliant electrodes using what we have called the dielectric elastomer switch. We developed suitable switching material using carbon loaded silicone grease and experimentally demonstrated the primitives required for self-sensing actuators and digital computation, namely compliant electromechanical NAND gates and oscillator circuits. We anticipate that dielectric elastomer switches will reduce the need for bulky and rigid external circuitry as well as provide the simple distributed intelligence required for soft, biologically inspired networks of actuators. Examples include many-degree-of-freedom robotic hearts, intestines, and manipulators; wearable assistive devices; smart sensor skins and fabrics; and ultimately new types of artificial muscle embedded, electromechanical computers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the transformation toughening theory an approximate solution is developed for predicting the stress intensity factor for a crack interacting with an inclusion of arbitrary shape and size under I/II mixed mode loading conditions. The transformation strains in the inclusion induced by the crack tip field and the remotely applied stresses are evaluated based on the Eshelby equivalent inclusion theory. As validated by detailed finite element analyses, the solution is applicable with good accuracy for the inclusion of arbitrary shape and large size under mixed mode loadings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solid-state coordination reactions of lanthanum chloride with alanine and glycine, and lanthanum nitrate with alanine have been studied by classical solution calorimetry. The molar dissolution enthalpies of the reactants and the products in 2 mol L-1 HCl solvent of these three solid-solid coordination reactions have been measured using an isoperibol calorimeter. From the results and other auxiliary quantities, the standard molar formation enthalpies have been determined to be Δf Hmθ[La(Ala)3Cl3·3H2O(s), 298.2 K]= -3716.3 kJ mol-1, Δf Hmθ [La(Gly)3Cl3·5H2O(s), 298.2 K]= -4223.0 kJ mol-1 and Δf Hmθ [La(Ala)4(NO3)3·H2O(s), 298.2 K]= -3867.57 kJ mol-1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermogenic curves of the aerobic metabolism of the three strains of Bacillus thuringiensis B.t. A, B.t. B and B.t. C have been determined by using an LKB-2277 BioActivity Monitor. B.t. A was the host bacterium without foreign gene. B.t. B and B.t. C were constructed by transforming different foreign genes into the host B.t. A, respectively. B.t. B expressed erythromycin resistant gene, while B.t. C expressed both erythromycin resistant gene and tyrosinase gene. The heat flow rate of these strains is B.t. A> B.t. B > B.t. C. These results indicated that there is obvious interrelation between expression of foreign genes and heat flow rate of B.t. strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the study which examines the use of a modified two-stage perineal rectosigmoidectomy for the treatment of incarcerated rectal prolapse. It is inferred that the modified approach lowers the postoperative anastomotic leak rate. According to the authors, three patients with incarcerated rectal prolapse who underwent two-stage perineal rectosigmoidectomy did not develop post-operative complications with no recurrence 18-24 months following the surgery.

Osteoporosis is characterized by decreased bone mass, microarchitectural deterioration, and increased bone fragility. High-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity also results in bone loss, which is associated with an imbalanced gut microbiome. However, whether HFD-induced obesity or HFD itself promotes osteoclastogenesis and consequent bone loss remains unclear. In this study, we developed HFD-induced obesity (HIO) and non-obesity (NO) mouse models to evaluate the effect of HFD on bone loss. NO mice were defined as body weight within 5% of higher or lower than that of chow diet fed mice after 10 weeks HFD feeding. NO was protected from HIO-induced bone loss by the RANKL /OPG system, with associated increases in the tibia tenacity, cortical bone mean density, bone volume of cancellous bone, and trabecular number. This led to increased bone strength and improved bone microstructure via the microbiome-short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) regulation. Additionally, endogenous gut-SCFAs produced by the NO mice activated free fatty acid receptor 2 and inhibited histone deacetylases, resulting in the promotion of Treg cell proliferation in the HFD-fed NO mice; thereby, inhibiting osteoclastogenesis, which can be transplanted by fecal microbiome. Furthermore, T cells from NO mice retain differentiation of osteoclast precursors of RAW 264.7 macrophages ex vivo. Our data reveal that HFD is not a deleterious diet; however, the induction of obesity serves as a key trigger of bone loss that can be blocked by a NO mouse-specific gut microbiome., (© 2023. The Author(s).)